One piece molded reclosable caps are well known for use in covering a wide variety of containers. These closures or caps are typically a single piece molded flip-type part having a base and a cover connected by a hinge. The base is attached to the container and the cover is movable with respect to the base between a closed position and an open position permitting access to the contents of the container. Examples of such closures may be found in the cosmetics and food industries.
Closures such as these are typically produced by low cost injection molding. The parts are molded in large cavity molds for cost effectiveness. These molds produce the parts in an open condition. The ejected open parts must be subsequently closed before being applied to the container. Thus, the cover must be foldably closed over the base.
There exists in the art conventional automatic closing equipment designed to capture the molded part, orient it in the correct position, and close the cap by pivoting the cover onto the base. One such apparatus is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,988. As shown therein, the parts are progressively moved using a turntable. The turntable includes pockets to support the part during the closing operation.
Improvements which facilitate the accuracy and speed of such closure equipment are desirable.